From a certain perspective, sparring was also a kind of competition.

They could not get a hint of how strong Chu Kuangren was, so maybe through sparring, they could get a clue or two.

With that thought in mind, the Heavenly Champions sparred with Chu Kuangren.

A while later, Daoist chimes sounded above Cirrus Academy, accompanied by a sky full of golden lotuses. Mythical beasts, auspicious phenomena, the Hundred Scholar Assemblage, and all kinds of jaw-dropping phenomena occurred.

Words of wisdom came out of Chu Kuangren’s mouth.

The Heavenly Champions and the students who came for the Elegant Gathering were captivated by his speech. What was supposed to be a sparring session turned into Chu Kuangren giving a lecture.

Further away at the Famed Master Pavilion, Mister Lu and the others also noticed the auspicious phenomenon at Cirrus Academy.

Naturally, they also heard the lecture Chu Kuangren was giving.

From that moment onward, they no longer doubted Chu Kuangren.

“There’s no reason to not make him the chief of the academy!”

“Not to mention the chief, even if he is to join the Famed Master Pavilion, he can do it easily.”

“It’s almost unimaginable that a young Earthen Immortal can utter such wisdom. Is he really just an Earthen Immortal?”

“His insights about the Dao are unimaginable.”

Even Mister Lu was impressed.

“This young one should be granted the title of Mister!”

Mister was an honorable title within the academy, and only two people in the academy had the title. As such, it showed how in awe Mister Lu was when he heard Chu Kuangren’s lecture.

However, he did not intend to grant Chu Kuangren the title now because it was not a title that he should give away easily.

It would shake up the entire academy.

Moreover, Chu Kuangren was just an Earthen Immortal, and giving him the title of Mister would do him more harm than good.

In the history of the academy, people who gained the title of Mister were at least an Arch Gilded Immortal.

…

Back at Cirrus Academy, the auspicious phenomenon surrounding the mountain peak started to fade away.

With that, the crowd began to come back to their senses, but Chu Kuangren’s words echoed in their minds.

By just listening, they gained a lot of insights.

From that moment onward, they looked at Chu Kuangren with nothing but awe.

They thought they could test Chu Kuangren’s strength through sparring, but it all seemed ridiculous now.

His understanding of Dao was far beyond his combat strength.

If they could not test the limit to Chu Kuangren’s strength, how could they do the same with his insights on Dao?

“Compared to him, my insights into Dao is like a stream while his is like the ocean. It’s unattainable!” Li Wangchen shook his head.

The others shared almost the same thought. It was at that moment that they were wholeheartedly convinced about Chu Kuangren.

Just then, a white figure approached from afar.

It was Bai Rui from the Famed Master Pavilion.

“Heavenly Champion Chu, Mister Lu would like to see you,” Bai Rui said with respect.

Although he had had a higher cultivation level than Chu Kuangren, after hearing Chu Kuangren’s lecture, he believed he was far behind Chu Kuangren in terms of Dao understanding.

Other than Scholar Yao and a few others, who were rotten on the inside, the people of the academy knew their manners, especially those who were a master or teacher. The higher the cultivation level, the better their manners.

It was only normal for Bai Rui to show such respect to Chu Kuangren.

“Okay.” Chu Kuangren nodded.

He told Lan Yu to go back first before he said to Bai Rui, “Please lead the way.”

He had not visited the Famed Master Pavilion before.

“This way, please.”

After the two left, a heated discussion sparked among the students.

“Did you guys hear that? Mister Lu wanted to see Chu Kuangren! He asked! He even invited Chu Kuangren over so politely!”

“D*mn. He’s good!”

“Chu Kuangren is going to make a name for himself this time.”

“He had been reading in the Scripture Sea for many years now, and people took him as nothing more than a bookworm. Who would have thought that he possessed this level of strength and such a high level of Dao understanding?”

“Perhaps only people like him can ignore all the news and gossip and concentrate on doing one thing for many years.”

…

At the Famed Master Pavilion, Chu Kuangren saw Mister Lu in a certain courtyard.

There was no one else there except Mister Lu.

Even Bai Rui left after sending Chu Kuangren inside.

“Greetings, Mister Lu.”

Chu Kuangren made a fist salute and bowed respectfully.

It was a respect for an elder with a much higher cultivation level than himself. Chu Kuangren might be arrogant, proud, and a little bit of a narcissist at times, but he knew his manners too.

“Have a seat.”

Mister Lu pointed at a chair.

The moment Chu Kuangren sat down, his surroundings changed. He then found himself and Mister Lu sitting among the clouds.

The clouds tumbled until lines of gold appeared.

The line formed a grid and became a giant chessboard.

It was an enormous chessboard, big enough to shadow the land!

“Heavenly Champion Chu, do you know how to play chess?” Mister Lu smiled.

“A little,” Chu Kuangren said. Although he had never really studied Chess Dao, he did learn a lot of things in the past few years.

He had tried Chess Dao before, but compared to his other capabilities, his knowledge of it was insignificant.

“Haha. Why don’t you and I play a game?”

“I’m more than happy to play.” Chu Kuangren nodded.

“You first, Heavenly Champion Chu.”

Chu Kuangren did not refuse to make the first move. With a single thought, the sword qi gathered at the tip of his finger before it was fired out.

The sword qi landed on the enormous chessboard and turned into a black chess piece.

The chessboard could transform Immortal’s Core energy into chess pieces.

Mister Lu made his move as well. He used the white chess piece as the opposite.

The two of them played a game of Go in the sea of clouds, and each Immortal’s Core energy they fired could create a storm outside. However, here, it only became either a black or white chess piece representing their respective self.

The black and white chess pieces fought fiercely, and no one held back.

A while later, Chu Kuangren realized the gap between him and Mister Lu. It was not easy trying to win the man in a game of Go, at least not with his current level.

As such, he was forced to move defensively.

“Heavenly Champion Chu, I’ve summoned you today to talk to you about the chief of the academy. I want to be in that position. What do you think about that?”

Mister Lu chuckled and fired out another stream of Immortal’s Core energy, which formed a white chess piece that ate one of the black chess pieces.

“I accept it.” Chu Kuangren did not deny the offer.

He stared at the game and mulled over his available options.

It was the first time in a long time that he was suppressed by someone else. Although it was in a game of Go, which he was not familiar with and his opponent was an Arch Gilded Immortal who had been alive for who-knows-how-many years, it was still something new to him.

“Lil Ai, do you know how to play Go?”

Since he was failing, Chu Kuangren decided to ask for help.

“I can analyze it.”

“Great. I’m counting on you,” Chu Kuangren said.

A game of chess was a game of calculation, and nothing in the world could beat the Omniscient Spirit, Lil Ai, in calculation.

From there onward, Chu Kuangren’s play changed drastically.

His caution slowly turned into ease, and each move he made felt instinctive and quick but also like it had been calculated countless times.

“Huh?” Mister Lu hummed when he noticed the changes.

“He’s getting serious.”

Intrigued, Mister Lu also gave it his best.

However, around an hour later, Mister Lu fell into deep thoughts as he stared at the chessboard. He shook his head and said, “I lost. I didn’t expect Heavenly Champion Chu to be this good at chess.”

“You’re too kind, Mister Lu.”

“Another game?”

“Of course.” Chu Kuangren nodded.

With Lil Ai at his side, he could take on the world.

A few games later, Mister Lu started to doubt his existence as he stared at the black and white chess pieces before his eyes. He had no idea how to continue.

“I can’t believe someone with this level of play exists in this world. I’ve studied Chess Dao for more than ten thousand years, and I thought no one could ever beat me.

“Who would have thought I would lose to a young one today?”

Chu Kuangren stared at Mister Lu, who was obviously in disbelief. At that moment, he began to think he was a little too harsh on the man.

Fortunately, Mister Lu’s firm Daoist Core allowed him to regain his composure quickly. “I am no match for you, Heavenly Chu. Let’s call it a day.”

With that, the chess board faded. The surroundings changed, and Chu Kuangren found himself back at the Famed Master Pavilion.

“I’ll be leaving then.”

“Mhmm.”

Chu Kuangren got up and left.

“Lil Ai, you’re awesome!” He praised Lil Ai for its outstanding performance.

“Mmhm!” Lil Ai hummed happily as a reply.

Watching Chu Kuangren leave his sight, Mister Lu had a conflicted look in his eyes. “This young man thinks deep and is almost unpredictable. He’s good at calculation, so good that he’s almost a monster. If the world is his chessboard and the people in it are his chess pieces, no one can escape his calculation.”

The essence of Chess Dao was about calculation and strategy.

Mister Lu invited Chu Kuangren for a game of Go because he wanted to use it to test Chu Kuangren’s personality and mind.

However, the result shocked him.

Chu Kuangren’s intelligence and ability to plan were inhuman! He had surpassed the limits of a human!